Troubleshooting Frustrations: Navigating the Steam and Origin Conundrum

Hello, dear readers!

Today I’m sharing a rather frustrating experience I encountered while trying to play a couple of recent game titles purchased through Steam. Before diving in, I want to clarify that this post isn’t meant to criticize any of the companies involved; rather, it’s a reflection on the challenges I faced when seeking Tech Support solutions.

Let me set the stage: after purchasing three exciting games on Steam—each one compatible with my system—I encountered a persistent issue. It appeared that all these titles required me to launch them via Origin. While I understood the necessity of using Origin for EA games, it soon became an inconvenient hurdle that I couldn’t overcome.

The complication arose when I tried to launch the games. Instead of seamlessly starting up, the Origin client failed to recognize that these games were already installed on my hard drive. Instead of playing, I was met with a frustrating cycle where Origin prompted me to download the games again, regardless of their Steam installation. This led to two scenarios:

1. If the game wasn’t installed, I was forced to download it via Steam again.
2. If it was already installed, Origin would display an error message indicating that it couldn’t complete the download.

After exhausting all self-help strategies, I sought the guidance of an EA representative. Despite their friendly and supportive demeanor, the suggested solutions—standard uninstalling and reinstalling procedures—didn’t alleviate the problem. After dedicating hours to uninstalling, I was left biting my nails as I waited three days for a download to complete, courtesy of my sluggish Australian internet.

Eventually, I connected with another EA support staff member who proposed clearing my download cache and repairing the Steam library folders. Encouraged by their advice, I went through those steps. To my astonishment, Origin finally recognized that the game was installed. However, this relief was short-lived. Upon attempting to play, the game initiated a first-time setup before refusing to load, simply resetting the Origin client back to its main page.

In a bid to find some resolution, I also reached out to Steam support. Unfortunately, they were unable to offer assistance and simply redirected me back to EA. I had already attempted a refund, which was declined due to the slow download preventing me from playing within the specified time frame. This entire debacle led me to question why these games were even available for purchase on Steam if compatibility issues rendered them unplayable.